Inexperienced Advice
by Suffering Angel
Summary: David's in a slump. Tommy's his self-appointed help whether David likes it or not.


I don't own Young Avengers

* * *

The pile of papers dropped on his desk was both alarming and despairing. Thinking he had finally finished his work-load for the day but a moment prior, David looked up at his executioner, only to find Tommy grinning down at him. They had already gone out for more than once for noodles and once for coffee, but right then, Tommy was no friend of his.

"Are you working part-time as an errand boy, now?"

"Yeah, but someplace that pays better than here." Tommy commented off-handedly. By the time he sped back with a chair, David managed to rub his eyes. When he sat down, David was frowning at one of the envelopes.

"Tommy, what-"

"No need to thank me, but if you insist, which I'm sure you do, you can buy me lunch tomorrow." The speedster grinned and leaned back in his seat, arms behind his neck. David simply stared for a moment before looking down at what turned out to be a college application. A pang shot through him at the sight and he gave Tommy one disbelieving look before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I never should have told you about this."

"Nonsense, you're grateful, admit it." Tommy grinned and picked a form at random. "How about this, this looks promising. Half a country away but hey, I can be there in ten seconds if I take the long way-"

David pulled the form out of Tommy's hands, only to find the speedster had already grabbed a replacement.  
"Or this, I can be there in _seven_-"

"Where did you even get all of these?!" David exclaimed and leaned back in his chair, eyes wide and filled with confused horror, a sensation he already learned was synonymous to being around Tommy.

"Ted and Bill." Tommy replied casually and decided not to ask what the odd look on David's face meant. "Don't worry, we won't actually fill any of these out, just get ideas. They won't even know I took them, what with them catching up on lost time or something away from home."

David stared down at a form, one the likes of which he was already familiar with, painfully so- disappointingly so.  
"They won't accept me, Tommy."

"The guy who's Tony Stark, Hank McCoy, Hank Pym and more combined? Sure they will."

David pinched his nose again. "Like work places do?" He asked with a bit more bitterness than he intended to. Tommy finally looked up at him.

"You got _this_ job."

"I'm a ninja's help-desk."

"It's a job."

They stared at each other for a moment before David shook his head. "Tommy, I don't even _need_ the education-"

"Then what difference does it make which place you go to? Binge-take the courses and get your degree!"

"The places I want won't even look at my application. Ex-terrorist, remember?" David reminded grimly.

"Then get other places to look at it. Hey, you saved the world, how many people can write _that_ in their application? Not ones with _secret identities_, that's for sure."

David sighed in resignation, only to blink as something dawned on him.  
"What about you, Tommy?"

"Hmm?" Tommy hummed and looked up from the five paper-cranes he just finished folding from the notes David had on his desk. "Oh. _Heh_. Nah, the last school _I_ went to ended up vaporizing."

David had that frown of his, the one saying there was something he didn't know about and there would be hell until he did. Tommy smiled dashingly back.  
"But it doesn't matter since I'm not the _smartest guy in the room_."

David muttered something akin to "not this again" under his breath before quirking a brow. "You seem to be managing just fine."

"Yeah, but don't you get some raise or something if you have a degree? There's at least that, right?"

David kept staring at Tommy silently. It wasn't that long before Tommy snapped.

"Oh god you're doing that thing Billy does sometimes. _Whaaat_, out with it."

David tried to ignore the yet another comparison to Wiccan. He succeeded, but only for the most part. "What's it to you, showing the sudden interest?"

Tommy snorted. "Oh yes, because being nosy is _new_ for me. We're friends, right? Mates, buddies? It's what we do."

David tried the silent stare again.

"Stop it! Ok yeah, I didn't buy that either. Today's not my Oscar-winning performance, is it." The speedster sighed and grinned back, only to give up on the act. "I'm just tired of it, alright? Had about enough."

"...of what?" David asked when Tommy seemed hesitant. He wasn't quite prepared for the dark look that settled in the green eyes.

"People giving up on themselves."

To say the least, that was not the answer David was ready for. Tommy went on before he could say anything, though.

"That's the easy way out. Just... shrug and do nothing, find some excuse. 'It was my fault', 'I can't do it', 'my past's a mess'. I keep hearing it, and trust me, even if I didn't go a billion times faster than all you slowpokes, I'd still be sick and tired of it."

There was a pause, one David knew was long and pregnant by Tommy's standards.

"Doing something about it? _That's _the hard part. Dragging yourself off your ass, getting back to doing what you failed at before, being the bigger, better person about things? That's _impossible_. But that's exactly why sometimes you just need someone to go and-"

By the time David realized Tommy flicked a finger against his forehead, Tommy was already sitting back down on his side of the desk.  
"Do this."

David rubbed his forehead. Tommy hummed idly and browsed through the forms again.

"Maybe now you'll see that the reason why no one's even _looking_ at your application-" He held the forms up then and gave David a pointed look. "Is because _you haven't sent any out yet_."

There was an application and pen set before him the next moment, and David stared down at them until they stared back.

"What do you think?" Tommy asked in half-a-purr. David then looked back up at him, sighed, and let a small smile creep to his lips despite himself.

"I think... I better make _copies_ since you need to put these back where you found them."

"Man, that'll take _forever_!" Tommy whined and helplessly watched David collect the papers and head towards the copy machine. "They can always get new ones?! Blame it all on me, they're used to it! ...half and half? Ok fuck that, I'm getting Starbucks, and I'm not branch-hopping looking for your low-fiber muffin or whatever!"

At the threat, David turned around and knew full well Tommy let him flick his forehead back.

**_Inexperienced Advice_**


End file.
